The amount of data transferred between electronic devices has grown tremendously the last several years. Large amounts of audio, streaming video, text, and other types of data content are now regularly transferred among desktop and portable computers, media devices, handheld media devices, displays, storage devices, and other types of electronic devices. Power may be transferred with this data, or power may be transferred separately.
Power and data may be conveyed over cables that may include wire conductors, fiber optic cables, or some combination of these or other conductors. Cable assemblies may include a connector insert at each end of a cable, though other cable assemblies may be connected or tethered to an electronic device in a dedicated manner. The connector inserts may be inserted into receptacles in the communicating electronic devices to form pathways for power and data.
The data rates through these connector inserts may be quite high. To provide these high data rates, it may be desirable that these connector inserts have good matching, a high signal integrity, and low insertion loss. This may require the impedance of signal contacts in the connector insert to be matched and close to a target value.
These connector inserts may be inserted into a device receptacle once or more each day for multiple years. It may be desirable that these connector inserts have and maintain a pleasant physical appearance as a poor appearance may lead to user dissatisfaction with both the cable assembly and the electronic devices that it connects to.
Electronic devices may be sold in the millions, with an attendant number of cable assemblies and their connector inserts sold alongside. With such volumes, any difficulties in the manufacturing process may become significant. For such reasons, it may be desirable that these connector inserts may be reliably manufactured.
Thus, what is needed are connector inserts having signal contacts with a matched impedance near a target value for good signal integrity and low insertion loss, a pleasant physical appearance, and that may be reliably manufactured.